Battle Royale
by DameM
Summary: Excerpt from "The Nekomata Guardian." Fight scene between Hisana and Kellan. The two matriarchs battle it out to see who is stronger, only for the fight to end in an unexpected way.


_A/N: Excerpt from "The Nekomata Guardian." Fight scene between Hisana and Kellan. As promised, here it is. You do not have to read this to understand the rest of "TNG" but you must have read "TNG" to understand this._

Disclaimer: I do not own the Inuyasha characters, manga, anime, movies, etc. They belong to Rumiko Takahashi et al.

_Battle Royale_

Hisana and Kellan stared at one another after Kirara left, each waiting until the fire cat was out of range before preparing themselves to duel. The dog demoness put on a casual air, not wanting the faerie queen to have any advantage if it were possible. While she could sense the emotions coming from the older woman, it wouldn't do her pride any good if the reverse became true.

"I see that your interpreter didn't come with you. Can I take that as an indication that you can understand me perfectly well?" Hisana asked, letting her claws glint in the sunlight.

"I can," Kellan affirmed, ready for the demon to come at her quickly.

"Then I have no need to fear that you'll misunderstand me." Hisana dashed forward, her speed rivaling that of her son's. She was momentarily caught off guard when Kellan seemed to disappear from her spot. Glancing up she saw the Fae queen floating in the air, a large pair of butterfly like wings suspending her.

"Come at me, then." A thin broadsword materialized in Kellan's hand, power swirling in a blue mist around the blade. Her long gold hair blew behind her. Purple eyes glowed with an inner energy and Hisana had a feeling that this fight would not be one-sided. "If you think that I will allow you to dictate my great-granddaughter's actions in the future, you are sorely mistaken."

"I do not dictate her actions. You are the presumptuous one, coming here and expecting her to give up the life she has known for three centuries."

"I do not expect her to give up her life. I only wish to ensure that she is happy and safe."

Hisana's eyes became red at the perceived insult. "You doubt my son's ability to keep her safe?"

"No, but I do not trust him yet to ensure her happiness. Was it not his fault that she almost died to begin with?" Despite the fact that she couldn't very well dispute that, the dog demoness still took umbrage and attacked. Kellan easily dodged, slicing an arc of pure energy at her opponent. The air around them sizzled, their hair becoming the only casualty at the moment.

For several minutes they exchanged blows, a _ki_ whip, much like her son's becoming Hisana's weapon. Sparks flew each time the whip came into contact with the sword, neither giving much ground. The field became a desolate dirt patch of earth. The flowers and grass that had been there, were now gone, victims of trampling and gouges made by the two clashing powers. It would be a long time before anything grew there again.

Hisana saw that her long range weapon wasn't going any good and knew that her claws would also be at a disadvantage when dealing with a sword. The only way she was going to get the upper hand was if she transformed. Distancing herself from the faerie, the demon lady changed, her true form towering above Kellan where she was standing a few feet away.

"What are you going to do, drool on me? I am no more afraid of you in this form than I was in your other." A growl was her answer, blue and red eyes narrowed in rage. Obviously the demon lady did not like to be thought weak. The faerie queen smiled thinly, waiting for the challenge. Kellan would not have wanted to face Sesshoumaru in his true form but she had no problems with facing Hisana.

The dowager's mouth opened on a snarl and poisonous acid began to collect like foam at the edges of her lower jaw. Kellan watched in mild fascination as some dripped onto the ground, eroding the spot with a sizzling hiss and cloud of gas. She covered her nose when the stench made her ill. So this was the poison of an inu taiyoukai. Tearing one sleeve, she made a hasty mask and readied herself to fight once more.

Giant claws came in an arc and Kellan was barely able to hold them back with her sword. Hisana was obviously putting a lot of force behind the blow, hoping that the pressure would be too much for the sword. A small crack appeared in the blade, telling Kellan and Hisana that the latter's supposition had been correct. Just as it broke, Kellan jumped back, the claws taking part of her dress, but not her life.

"You're going to have to do better than that."

Hisana, despite knowing the taunts were specifically to get her angry and distract her, couldn't hold back the growl of rage that issued forth from her throat. The insolent foreigner was not going to get the better of her. Assuming that the Fae queen was now unarmed except for her powers, the dog demoness was surprised by the staff that appeared, covered in gold. Thinking to do away with this weapon in the same way, she was taken aback by the stinging pain in her ankle when the staff struck her just above her paw. Biting back a howl of pain, Hisana snapped at her opponent, catching the tip of Kellan's shoe in her teeth. The thin leather gave easily, leaving the queen standing awkwardly.

Knowing she'd be off balance if she continued with the one shoe, Kellan readily gave the remaining one up, sighing in regret. "That was one of my favorite pairs of shoes, too." She got a grotesque grin in reply, satisfaction lighting Hisana's demonic gaze. Kellan gave one of her own smirks, feeling that since all was fair in love and war, tit for tat was allowable. She'd wait until Hisana returned to her humanoid form before destroying the lady's boots. In the meantime, she went on the offensive, using her powers to strike at the demoness with all the elements at her command.

Several times she got swiped with giant claws, unable to get cleanly away. By the time they were breathing heavily, they were both sporting scratches and had blood gracing clothing and fur. Kellan narrowed her eyes, knowing she had to give the other matriarch a decisive blow to reserve the transformation. Concentrating, she remade her weapon into a sharp spear, lunging to the vulnerable spot just below the giant dog's front legs.

The speed at which Kellan moved caught Hisana off guard and she was unable to prevent the large gash to her chest. Fury laced the howl of pain and she had no choice but to return to the form that took up less energy. Her body would heal without problems unless she insisted on remaining in her true form.

As it turned out though, Kellan was not done with her attack. When Hisana was momentarily down for the count, her boots became the victim of a vicious assault. "It's only fair," Kellan said, her own satisfaction reflected in her eyes.

"Insolent!" Hisana cried, her whip lashing out unexpectedly. It caught the edge of one of the queen's wings, ripping the delicate skin.

Unable to hold back the cry of pain, Kellan was forced to withdraw her wings to protect them from further damage. "You go too far!" Ready to strike the other woman with lightening, she was stopped by the woe-be-gone expression that over took Hisana's face.

"My beautiful fur! Look at what you've done! It's going to take days for it to get back to normal. And my clothes! Do you know how hard it is to destroy youkai silk? It doesn't look like they will ever be able to repair themselves."

"We're in the middle of a fight, and you're concerned about your _clothes_?" Kellan put away her weapon, looking at the demoness like she'd lost her mind. This was the first time she'd encountered Hisana's frequent trips from sanity. "You're insane, you know that don't you?"

"So my children tell me." Seeing that the situation had taken an unexpected departure from reality, Kellan sighed.

"We might as well end the fight. It is midafternoon and if we do not return soon, the children will come looking for us eventually. Neither one of us is going to win." She pulled the dog demon noble to her feet, glancing at the field. Gouges and acid burns had destroyed any useful plants left before winter set in. "This field will need at least a year to recover, if it ever does."

Hisana didn't reply and by silent agreement, they decided not to tell the children what had gone on between them. Kirara would have to be told, naturally as she was the elder who had set up the duel but there was no need to concern the children.

Besides, Kellan rather thought that the children would begin seriously thinking of some way to lock away Hisana if they ever found out she had been more concerned about her clothes and fur than a fight.

"Oh, look, they're all waiting for us. Isn't that sweet?"

Kellan made no comment.


End file.
